WEEKLY WHEATIES #2511
Battery Longevity, Gaming, Google, Meta, Headway
In this newsletter:
📝 Post: Getting the Most Battery Life Out of Your Devices
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Gaming
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Quick Takes
😎 Pick of the Week: Headway
📦 Featured Product: USB Wall Outlet
📝 Getting the Most Battery Life Out of Your Devices
Have you ever upgraded your phone or laptop solely because the battery would no longer hold a charge? I’m guilty! But did you know that depending on the device model, replacing a battery may be inexpensive compared to replacing a new phone? Some can be had for as little as $30, while others may cost $100 or more. Some may be easy to install, and you may have even removed a battery from your phone or laptop before, too.
Technically speaking, laptops can function normally without a battery installed if plugged in directly to power through the charger. Essentially, when a laptop is plugged into power, the electricity obviously powers the laptop, but it also sends electricity to the battery to charge it. Batteries in these devices have a maximum amount of power they can hold. The battery's physical size determines this limit, as well as the material used to make it. Then, the power the device requires, based on the apps in use, dictates how long the charge will last.
The longer the battery lasts per charge, the better, but that comes with size and weight issues of the device, too. On both laptops and phones, larger screens require more power, but they generally come with a larger battery to make up for it, too. That’s why larger devices don’t necessarily always have more battery storage - the larger battery is used by the larger screen. On this same note, we can tell how playing graphically intense games or videos eats away at the battery quickly. Or putting our devices in grayscale mode or lowered brightness allows our devices to last longer.
However, there are tons of other things you could do to help your batteries last longer, depending on the device. If you’re curious, I covered many of them in Weekly Wheaties #2338. What I’d like to share here is how to make your battery last longer over the device's lifetime. In a perfect world, there are four things to do that would make your battery last as long as possible.
Only use the manufacturer’s charging cable.
Charge at the lowest wattage possible.
Charge to 100% and immediately remove the charger.
Do not charge your device again until the battery dies.
Third-party charging cables and bricks simply do not have the quality components and do not deliver as ‘clean’ of power to your device. The cable’s connections could also cause issues with your devices’ ports. Charging at a higher wattage allows your device to charge faster, but that can hinder lifespan. Leaving the charger on once reaching 100% may still try to ‘push’ power to your battery, causing issues. Lastly, Not allowing your battery to go to 0% can mess with the memory of the battery.
Yes, batteries have a memory. This allows the battery to know where the top end is, as well as the bottom. But if the device is never allowed to reach 0%, or ‘exceeds’ 100% while being on the charger for an extended period of time, the battery’s memory will modify to what the current usage is. I’m taking some liberties here, but essentially, this is why your phone may be great until 20%, then dies all of a sudden.
Now, you don't need to necessarily let your device go to 0% every day, but once a week or once a month would be helpful. Leaving a laptop plugged in is okay if it’s being used or charging, but it’s also not a good idea to leave it plugged in all of the time. While charging, the heat being transferred in the form of electricity has also made laptop batteries swell.
Another thing to consider is battery cycles. While batteries do modify how much charge they can store, that is also based on the charging cycles of the battery. For example, Phone Arena shares How to check how many battery cycles is your Apple iPhone battery. While a Macbook, iPad, and watch may have 1,000 cycles, phones typically only have around 500. This means that if you charge your phone from 0-100% every day, the battery would be degraded enough to make a difference in performance in less than two years.
A battery cycle is simply charging your phone the equivalent of 100% of the battery. So charging from 60 to 80% 5 times would equate to 1 battery cycle. And as mentioned, the slower and longer we charge our batteries, the better, so those quick 20% charges can actually do more damage to your battery than one longer charge. Now, I also live in the real world, and my phone’s battery doesn’t always last the length of a day, so I have to quick-charge my phone a lot, too.
So what if we need to replace our battery? If you have an Apple product and don’t feel comfortable working on your device, I suggest bringing it into the Apple Store. Alternatively, or if you have a non-Apple product, there are many places to purchase original or third-party batteries. Using Amazon or Ebay is always an option, but these two sites may also provide tools and installation guides:
What about reusuable batteries for other electronic devices? Typically speaking, for things like remotes where you need AA or AAA batteries, I don’t suggest them. Rechargable batteries are better for things used more often and use more power. Devices that ‘sit around’ and barely use any power are better for typical one-use batteries simply due to price and logevity. By the time a rechargable battery in a remote needs charging, it probably is way past forgetting where to charge to and the lifespan of that battery will be minimal.
Have you ever replaced a battery in one of your devices?
🗞️ ICYMI: Gaming
In a blog post from Microsoft, they announced Copilot for Gaming Aims to Save You Time, Help You Get Good. This AI assistant, now coming to Xbox next month, will give help in the game via personalized strategies based on your gameplay and style. It will also help navigate difficult challenges in-game. See more on the Xbox Podcast YouTube video.
Another gaming company, Wolfgames, just announced a true crime-style murder mystery game. Except there’s an AI-generated twist. Sign up on their website to be one of the first to play when the game is released this summer.
🗞️ ICYMI: Quick Takes
It’s been in the courts for a while, but the DOJ now says Google must sell Chrome, Android could be next. Microsoft went through the same thing with Internet Explorer, so here we are. In other news, Google announces Gemini Robotics for building general purpose robots to “perform a wider range of real-world tasks than ever before.”
As mentioned earlier this year in #2503, Meta is launching Community Notes in the US next week. I’m sure moderation will look different, as will reporting. Make sure to make note of the extra text listed under pictures and articles before sharing.
The New York Times updated their Best Password Managers of 2025, and only listed two: 1Password and Bitwarden. I’ve talked multiple times about - and suggest - Bitwarden. To read more, check out Weekly Wheaties #2309, #2420, and #2421.
😎 POTW: Headway
This past fall, I wrote about Unlocking the World of eBooks and Audio Books in #2441. There’s a lot in the tech space to help with literacy with apps, audiobooks, and free resources available - including your local library! One of my favorite types of apps are Book Summary apps. There are plenty of them in this space that I’ve tested and subscribed to over the years, too. One of the top apps here is Blinkist, but since they’ve grown, so has their subscription fee.
However, my other favorite app here is Headway. You can read or listen to book summaries in 10-15 minute blocks. They are always adding new books to their library and have plenty of categories to choose from and browse for currently available books. The link included above and below is an affiliate link through AppSumo. By purchasing here, you can have lifetime access to Headway for $59. At this price, this app is a steal and absolutely worth it if you want to up your knowledge on all sorts of topics. Don’t trust me? There are over 100,000 reviews with a 4.5+ star rating on both the Apple and Google App Stores.
📦 Featured Product
If you have a table, nightstand, or area in your home to charge your devices, consider this Wall Outlet with USB ports, nightlight, and a shelf. It can house your Echo, Google Home, a bluetooth speaker, or one or more phones or tablets. The light is useful at night, and the multiple outlets allow all chargers or other devices to be plugged in.
